Environmental Health

The Environmental Health Unit offers a variety of programs intended to protect residents, workers, and students from environmental threats that can lead to poor health. These activities are concerned with the broad range of human health threats that can result from exposures to hazardous chemical agents, fibrous minerals, radiation, environmental allergens, zoonotic (animal) and vector (insect) carriers of disease, genetically altered and infectious organisms, and waterborne or foodborne pathogens. Many of these potential threats to health are not reported or tracked by traditional public health mechanisms. Nevertheless, there is a growing awareness of the negative impact that environmental exposures may have directly on the health of individuals and indirectly on their susceptibility to other illnesses.

The city of Cambridge provides many services that help protect residents from environmental health threats and exposures. Enforcement and oversight functions lie in several city departments, including Inspectional Services, fire, public works, water, and the License Commission, Conservation Commission, and Animal Commission. Because of the wide distribution of responsibilities that impact environmental health there is a need for regular public health consultation and collaboration to support these departments.

INFO LINE

If you have questions about environmental health, please call the department's Environmental Health Unit at 617-665-3838.